Second Hand, The New Norm.

Good on so many levels.

The other day I was at the local shopping center and took a turn about one of the ubiquitous cheap clothing chains. They carry the identical stock in every town they preside in and no wonder most people one encounters look like sheep, dressed alike. Finding boutique style shops is jolly difficult unless one is a size zero adorned with money.

I get it, shopping when clothes are made in all sizes and are so inexpensive as to cost less than the price of a Schnitzel, makes saying no and turning one's back on it rather difficult. If not impossible in today's climate. Was there ever a time when we were such a public commodity? A sort of public viewing 24 hours a day.

Comes in the genre - second hand clothes - and a whole new way of looking at life. Second hand clothes are at least one season old if not more which makes it rather trendy again as no one else will wear it! Strange logic, I know. Clothes that have been around the block so to speak, are more robust, sturdy and far too precious to be thrown on the dump.

The true magic of anything second hand is that it represents a mindset of saving;

• Saving an item from needlessly being thrown away after all the resources it took to make it.
• Saving the resources to make a new item which would have been bought instead.
• Saving a lot of money because second hand is that much cheaper.

So, after resisting the lure cast out by the various fashion chains and emporiums in Oberwart I stopped on the way home at the newly created Second Hand Shop, Schatzgrube, in Grosspetersdorf and managed to find a pale blue jersey for 5 euros. A steal that looks good and makes me feel good for all the above reasons...

Each one of us can make a difference if not all the time, at least some of the time!

Biggi